The Valley of Fear
by we-are-floating-bubbles
Summary: In the post-apocalyptic nation of Adroit, there are 9 zones. Kim Crawford is from the strong Zone 9, and Jack Brewer is from deteriorating Zone 5. After Jack has been given the task of killing Kim's father as a part of the Rebel's master plan, he doesn't expect the fierce and fiery blonde to tag along. But what starts as a simple mission soon escalates into a full blown war.
1. Introduction

_**Disclaimer for the Entire Story: I do not own Kickin' It, nor do I claim to. The only thing I own is the story plot.**_

_Hey, guys! I know, I'm a terrible person for having two multi-chapter stories at the same time. But this idea was stuck in my head for the longest time and it refused to budge. So finally, I just had to get it down. And when I did, I was like WOW. I really like where this is heading. So please give it a try. And if you haven't already, read my other multi-chapter story, The Lipstick Wars, cause it's my baby and I'm so proud of it. Also, more than half of it is done and I have the whole week off, so I can update more often. I should probably stop babbling, so...on with the story._

_P.S. Sorry for the short chapter. This is the intro, so the chapters will be longer from now on._

* * *

**KIM**

Kim pulled up the hood of her gray sweater, trying to block out the jeers and snarls of the village boys as she pushed past them. She wasn't hurt by them; what self-respecting nineteen year old woman would be saddened by the taunting of seven year olds? She was just annoyed of them. Besides, if she wanted to get the sticky gum out of her hair with minimal damage, she had to do it quick, and in the safety of her home.

Sprinting up the steps, she pulled the door open and slammed it shut just as quickly. The voices of the boys were drowned out by the usual hubbub of the Mayor's house. It still puzzled Kim as to why the children made fun of her hair when she was the daughter of the most powerful man in Zone 9.

After the Final War, the counties of the Earth were ruined and the government leaders dead and gone. A group of survivors came together, determined never to do again what the leaders of the past did. The group of nine came to be known as the 9 Stones, because they are the foundation for the most populous nation in the world: Adroit, which means quick and skillful.

Each of the 9 Stones took care of one sector, which they called Zones. Each Zone has a special ability that is economically helpful. For example, Zone 3 is in charge of all trade and sales. And Zone 8 drills for oil.

And Zone 9, where our heroine used to live?

Hunting.

And Kimberly Crawford, direct descendant of Michael Crawford, one of the 9 Stones, is the most skilled huntress in the Zone.

* * *

**JACK**

Zone 5 was chaos, and it made him proud to know that it was because of he and his father's doing.

Malakai Brewer looked up at his son. Though both he and his late wife were both relatively average in height, his only son Jack was practically a giant with his five foot ten stature. Height was almost unheard of in Adroit.

It was a mixed blessing for the cause.

"Son," he boomed in his deep voice. "The time has come to spread our cause to the other Zones. I have already sent some of my best to Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8. Now, I am sending you to Zone 9, the most corrupt Zone, eliminate the Mayor, Chuck Crawford, who has been implanted with the evil chip. Security is tight there, and make sure you are wary of the Mayor's daughter, who is fabled to be the best huntress in Zone. If you come across her, kidnap her and bring her to us. She could be of some use before she is corrupted as well."

Jack laughed. "I think I can take on a _girl_."

His father smirked. "You remind me of when I was young. Remember, underestimating the power of women was one of the fatal mistakes the world leaders made during the Final War. Don't do the same."

Jack smiled, but did not say anything. He did a quick salute to his father, the rebel leader, and started walking to the underground hideout, which housed all the rebel leaders and their families.

"Oh, and son?"

Jack turned again, his handsome face illuminated from the lights of the fires that spread across Downtown Square.

"It's also rumored that Kim Crawford, the huntress, is the most beautiful girl in all of Adroit," Malakai warned. "Don't make the mistake of falling in love with a woman from the opposing side. I made that mistake and..." He paused, looking sorrowfully at Jack.

Jack tried to swallow the lump that formed in his throat, but failed. He'd always felt like he couldn't breath whenever his father mentioned Phillipa Marion, his mother who was slain in an attempt to control the rebellion when many from the National House of Justice (NHJ) realized just how corrupt the government was.

He blinked a few times, trying to wipe his mind of the image of his beloved mother bleeding to death on the cold marble floors of the NHJ building. It was a miracle he and his father survived. The mental picture was still there, but it helped stop the tears that threatened to spill. He nodded curtly to his father and continued down the hideout, making a checklist of everything he needed to complete his mission.

The rebellion was not off to a good start, but Jackson Brewer, son of the rebel leader Malakai Brewer, was determined to complete his mission, and not get sidetracked by a pretty little _huntress_.


	2. Elimination

_I wasn't planning on updating again this week, but I just got too excited about this story. In fact, I got my sister to read it, and actually liked it! For all those authors with younger siblings, y'all know how I feel! It's a big thing. So... (drumroll please) on with the show!_

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**KIM**

"Kimberly Crawford! What have I said about keeping your hood up when you are indoors?"

Kim sighed, knowing it was no use to argue with Joan, the secretary his father had hired to take care of her while he was at meetings. "Babysitter" would be the correct term, but she absolutely hated it. "Nanny" was even worse.

But, being an elder, she had to do what Joan commanded. It was law. Kim gingerly eased the hood off of her head, the inside littered with pieces of sticky gum. Joan, being a pole that felt no pity what-so-ever, remained emotionless as usual. She grabbed the blonde's long hair and pulled her towards a mirror.

"How in all of Adroit did this happen?" Joan rasped as she tried to comb out as much as she could using her fingers. No avail; it was stuck fast.

"Why don't you ask the village boys, such as Adrian?" Kim suggested, gritting her teeth as Joan dug her fingers in a bit more roughly after hearing Kim say her beloved nephew's name.

"Don't bring Adrian into this. You have no idea what he has gone through."

"I know what it's like to loose a parent too! My mother died while giving birth to me."

"It's not the same!" Joan spat out, fire illuminating in her eyes. "He saw his father dying in his arms while he was four. You didn't even know your mother!"

All is quiet for a few strange moments. Finally, Kim spoke up.

"Isn't that worse, though? I'll never know what she thinks of me."

Joan sighed and let go of the girl's hair. "I've got most of it out," she announced. "But you'll need a haircut. I'll call Casey."

Kim saw the woman leave, slumping dejectedly. Death was not an uncommon thing in Zone 9, in all of Adroit to be honest. So many people were not yet immune to the sickness and starvation that contaminated the air. At school, Kim was usually left alone because of her social status. But during mealtimes, many of the starving children huddled around her, desperate to get even a morsel of the luxurious foods Kim was served. She usually split her lunch up into portions for the others to take.

Sticky gum helped though. Every person in Zone 9 has had it at least once in their life. Sticky gum has been proven to decrease appetite by a number of professors. It's easy to get, affordable, and has flavor.

It was the ammunition for the village boys against Kim.

Kim winced as she tried to untangle a section of hair that had been caught in the mess of sticky gum. Where was Casey?

She stared at her reflection. Kim thought she was pretty enough, with big eyes, lean body, and a sculpted face. It was her hair that was the problem.

Golden. Yellow. Whatever you called it, the fact was that Kim was blonde. While all the village people had brown or black or the occasional red hair, Kim was the only person in the Zone with blonde hair.

She received merciless teasing for this. People called her a witch and joked that she ought to get burned at the steak. At least, Kim hoped that they were joking.

"There she is, my brave girl! How could those imbeciles do this to your lovely hair?" Casey barged into the room with all the silence and grace of a NHJ military tank. Kim's lips quirked up in a smile, the first smile all day.

"Now turn around sugar, and let me see what the animals did to you."

Casey was a sweet African-Adroitian with a certain knack for making a disastrous hair related situation become beautiful and solved. She had a boy once too, but he had gone missing years ago, along with her husband. The man was found dead in the woods surrounding Zone 9, but the boy had not yet been tracked. Casey dedicated the rest of her life to making other's happy.

Sure enough, after fifteen minutes of snipping, Kim's hair was shorter and free of gum. Her once waist length locks were now situated a few inches from her shoulders, and a large section of the front of her hair was cut shorter than the others to hang loosely, covering a portion of her right eye, forming, as Casey had called them, bangs.

Kim was admiring herself in the mirror when her father came in. "What did they do to her? What did they do to the girl?" he shouted.

"Father, it was nothing that Casey couldn't fix," Kim said, bounding over to her father and squeezing tightly. He awkwardly hugged her back.

"Kim," he addressed her. "Why don't you take a little break. Go out hunting, or something. After my meeting, I'll need to talk to you. It's important."

Kim nodded, understanding his orders. Meetings were strictly confidential, and Kim was going to be Mayor one day after him, so talking with him wasn't out of the ordinary either.

She bid her father and Casey goodbye and exited the room, marching toward her own room. Kim kept an eye out for Joan, to apologize for insulting her nephew, but she didn't see her anywhere. Joan had been more and more absent recently. In fact, after every conversation with herself, Joan usually fled to God knows where.

Oh well. It wasn't in Kim's place to say so. She arrived at her room and changed to something more comfortable than her atrocious school uniform, instead opting for a simple pair of flexible brown pants, a plain black shirt, and her favorite boots, the ones with the two-part sole so she can keep a knife there in case she needed quick protection.

Now comes the huntress part of the ensemble. She strapped on two hunting knives to each of her calves, and pocketed a box of matches just in case. Kim then lovingly took her bow and arrow, the one thing she had from her mother. Legend had it that Roberta Crawford was one of the best huntresses in her day and age too, and it made Kim proud that she was using the same weapon as the heroine.

Kim grabbed her sweater and pulled the hood over her head again. She glimpsed at herself in the mirror one last time before stepping out of her room and making her way through the Labyrinth that was the Mayor's house.

Stepping outside, she jogged down the steps and all but sprinted to the woods, which were only a few paces away from her home.

Looking back on it, Kim realized that her hurry to get in the woods was the reason she survived. If she had paused for even a minute, she would be dead. Gone.

Because just as Kim ran into the deeper part of the woods, the part where the few trees became many and shrub growth was much more evident, the part everyone called the True Forest, the Mayor's house exploded, and Kim became weightless.


End file.
